Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Creating Engaging Characters

When I read many of the self-published novels that
proliferate today’s literary landscape, one glaring flaw that jumps out at me is the lack of character
development. Many newbie authors spend
much of their time on the plot not realizing that plot should always be
secondary to character. Plot, to me, is
like a car, while character is the driver.
You need the driver to get the car where you want it to go--where you want to go. It’s the driver’s choices that make the trip
pleasurable or harrowing. The car is
just the vehicle.

I noted for a fantasy writer recently that in J. R. R.
Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings, it isn’t elves, and orcs and ring wraiths
that make the story so engaging—it’s Frodo’s moral dilemma, or what I call his
moral conundrum that propels the story forward.
When Frodo comes to realize the responsibility he’s been entrusted with
the ring, he doesn’t want it. It’s the
weight of this and how he handles this and other responsibilities that really
moves the story along. It’s not the
plot, but the characters choices that makes The Lord of The Rings so
engaging.

In Stephen King’s The Shining, Jack Torrance surmises
his family (wife, Wendy and son, Danny) are the reason he’s in the position he’s
in—a broke, struggling, alcoholic writer.
Taking the job at the Overlook is Jack’s desire to fix his life, but his
secret belief that his family is the reason for his woes (his conundrum) eats
at him until it finally brings him down. Yes, Danny’s ability to see ghosts who
might harm him scares the hell out of us, but it’s his father’s moral conundrum
that propels the story along.

If you’re a newbie writer, or even a seasoned vet who may
have forgotten, characters and their choices are the key to creating engaging
work. It’s great having a Ferrari (plot) but without a good driver (character)
it’s just another car.